6 days ago
Was he the greatest? Debate on as SA footy legend dies
In South Australian footy circles, it always came down to this: Robran or Ebert?
There's no solution to who is SA's best Australian rules player, but arguments settled on two: Port Adelaide great Russell Ebert, or North Adelaide legend Barrie Robran.
And despite Ebert's astonishing four Magarey Medals, many plump for Robran, who won the SANFL medal three times.
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"Robran was universally regarded across South Australia as the finest footballer the state has produced in its history across the past 150 years," an AFL statement said.
The chief of his SANFL club North Adelaide, Craig Burton, had no doubt, extending the Robran-Ebert debate to a national one.
"We think he's number one, the greatest ever footballer," Burton said.
"You'll get an argument from people in Victoria … but he was definitely right up there."
The SANFL didn't take sides in its tribute, referring to the Roosters great as "among" the state's players ever.
"Barrie was a champion of our game and has left an indelible mark on football in South Australia through his on-field brilliance," SANFL president Rob Kerin said.
Robran was an inaugural member of the Australian Football Hall of Fame in 1996 and the first South Australian honoured with "legend'' status, in 2001.
He dominated the SANFL from his debut in 1967 until retirement in 1980, playing 201 games for North Adelaide. He also played 17 state games and captained SA.
A seven-time consecutive club best-and-fairest and dual premiership player at North, Robran's career stalled in 1974 when, playing for SA, he injured a knee in a clash with Victoria's Leigh Matthews.
"As the years have gone by I've often thought: 'Had that have not happened …'," Robran had said.
"It probably cost me about 150 league games here in South Australia because I was 26 when that happened.
"My ambition in football was always to play until I was 40 at some appropriate level where I could play and not embarrass myself."
